he felt that it was disloyal. >> well, i was there with senator hagel. i think one of the reasons that senator obama joined us on the trip was he wanted to get a firsthand impression about iraq and afghanistan, and also, he wanted a perspective from someone who was a republican, clearly republican, but also a combat veteran, someone who had a great feel for the military. i can't speculate about senator mccain's reaction. i can say, though, john mccain is one of the -- he is serious about all the issues. he is treating this nomination like everything he --s with great seriousness, and i commend him for that. >> we're just learning that at least the associated press and the boston globe both reporting that scott brown will not be running for the seat next toor to you in rhode island. what do you think of that, since he was widely viewed as the biggest challenge to a perspective democrat running for that open seat? of course, the john kerry seat. >> i -- all politics is local. i'm a little surprised, but i -- my reaction would be that he has made a decision